Need Steelhead tips
here is an excerpt from ICJ's page about steelheading....
"....I have not listed any sizes to the flies because in high fast water you may need a size #6, but in low clear water, you may need t

Fly tying with found materials
People forget that the original pheasant tail nymph was tied with a hook, pheasant tail and fine wire from an old radio transformer that Frank Sawyer scavenged from somewhere. No peacock, no hackle, n

Peacock - Now endangered
Well Colin, if we do, we should do it over 2 or 3 years. There is one dominant male, who will not tolerate the others having any tail. Take him first then hopefully two will grow theirs next year. I h

Tying flies with minimal materials
Tie some Pats Rubber legs. Tail is two rubber leg strands, body is chenille (yarn works just a well,) Legs are rubber legs. Weight with lead wire if you have it, or use copper wire (

Rubber Based Cement
So what they say is true, just be careful with toluene, it is easily absorbed through your skin and in large dosage it will eventually end up in your bone marrow, That ain't good

To Skin.. or Trim... THAT is the Question....???
Skin, skin, skin. The hide is tough and easy to skin. It has some great guard hairs that can be used for dry flies. You will get a much better selection of hair and fur if you leave it on the skin.

An update to a carp/steelhead fly I tied
I added a few changes to this pattern: http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=81426 and want to share them with you guys. I started tying them on jig hooks so that when i fish them under a f

Casting dry fly problem
With dry flies i find that a deliberate stop of the rod above the point of where you want the fly to land and then relax to let it all lay down works. The deliberate stop of the forward cast straighte

ACK!...that's not a fly rod!
Hmmm...3.8oz for a 6'6" rod is not what I'd call especially lightweight. Is that correct or a typo? My 7' Lamiglass rod weighs about 3.7oz and it's got a full handle and an aluminum seat.

Badanloch
Some of Mike's and my fish Saturday came to a muddled Kate. (Which reminds me I need to tie some more).
[attachment=52691:Mini Muddlers_0006.jpg]
Point flies, well it depends on the depth you need to

Smallmouth
Muddlers and Marabou Muddlers can be fished many ways to imitated several kinds of a SMB menu. Minnows, some larva, and even leaches and crawdads. Another versatile fly is a blind Squirrel which works

Smoky Mountain Fly Patterns
Hey, I've been living here in Knoxville for about ten years and have fished the smokies all ten of them.
Your best bet during the summer is to try anything with yellow. Yellow foam caddis (call

Droppers
To begin this is what I do fishing for trout and grayling. I couldn't vote as I use all three options dependant on fishing situation, with no particular preference for any.
On still waters I us

Suggestions on a starter rod/reel/line?
Maybe a trip to Bass Pro. They have a number of entry fly outfits at various price points. You can't go wrong with the workhorse all around 9' 5wt rod. You can nymph, dry fly and throw medium streamer

Excess Baggage
Less is best, but today it was to much! Pulled up at the car park of a local fishery in the morning! The noise didn't sound good! Put my rod & reel togeather, hip waders & boots on, wadding ja

One size larger
Ok, let me see if I understand. Bear with me I use to ride the short bus. I should "experiment" with different line weights every time I purchase a new rod because the manufacturers can't be t

Pheasant Tail Nymph - per Frank Sawyer
All wire - not thread ... right?
I had someone look over my shoulder guiding my through tying a pheasant tail nymph like that once... many moons ago. I've never done it again lol!
Those

What feather is this?
I found this feather in a pack of peacock herl and am curious as to what it is called. It's about 1.5'' long, and the fibers are fairly thick, especially at the tips
[attachment=52440:Mystery f

How to fly fish for trout in a lake
Preparing for my trip, just talked with the Corps of Engineers. Lake MooMaw is at approx. normal level (good news!); trout are at 20-25 feet. This will probably hold for the next couple weeks.

Greased line how-to?
One greases the leader/tippet (except for the last 6" of tippet, or so) with paste floatant.
This suspends the fly sub-surface.
http://fishfliesandwater.com/gear-rigging/greased-lea

living in florida....
Just comparing gator behavior to copperheads, which were "up north" on at a corps of engineers made lake for bass fishing. They would be sunning themselves on the dam road & to get where the fishi

double nymph rig?
today we experienced high, fast, dirty water with finicky trout lying within, my friend and i both did decently, he did better than i by a good margin
he had the idea to tie on a heavy stonefly

We emerge into June for monthly swap
June is emerger time. Emergers are designed to float in or just below the surface film. Since too much of my trout knowledge is from reading other people's experiences and not enough of my own, when y

Sunken Dry Fly
Got out Saturday for a little bit for trout and ended with a 15 fish day with the majority coming on a size 18 Purple Haze, but it had to be slightly drowned or they wouldn't touch it. Any ideas why t

Catfish?
I've caught many over the years while targeting other species, but never specifically fly fished for them.
Biggest I may have hooked might have been 6 to 8 lbs, so 17 is a feat to be proud of!
&

Squirmy Leech
Mike, maybe one day during the week. Just taking lunch and a breather from digging fence post holes, getting ready for round 2, setting them in concrete and then off to family get together and tomorro

unknown stuff in my squirrel fur?
Salt and borax can be used to cure just about any animal skin. I understand most professional tanners also use a powder made from ground-up corn stalks to finish their skins. Either way, a brush and a

Dyeing at home
Fotwin
I bought tumeric to take for its very beneficial health properties. I bought a 14 ounce jar for five dollars. I was reading if it was also benficial for dogs when I saw about dyeing at h

Bob Wayatt's DHE ?
The more it flairs the more hollow, or really if it flairs it's hollow. This means more buoyant.
A winter red deer skin I find has the most hollow hair. Roe deer tends to be much more fur like and so

DIY Leaders
The complicated leader formulas are unnecessary.
For hand tied leaders, I use a very simple leader formula that I got from Gary Borger. He has modified his Uni-body leader formula a bit from th

The Truth
if i'm on a run of 6 or more, i break the fly down into stages.
ex. for my favourite nymph, i'll tie tails, rib and dub the thorax in the first step. once these pass inspection, then i proceed